New York Times
Magazine
, Dec. 27
(posted Thursday, Dec.
24, 1998)
Two articles and a photo
essay chronicle Russia's bleakness. The grimmest piece describes how Russians
in a small city survive without money: They skip rent payments, grow food in
garden plots, and go without butter and meat. (The local shoe factory employs
800 people and makes only 3,000 pairs a year.) Underlying theme: Moscow is a
Potemkin village of prosperity, and the rest of Russia is dying. ... The
magazine publishes a sublime guide to America's doomsday prophets and other
assorted millennialists. Among the many highlights: Morningland, whose high
priestess preaches that Christ will land a UFO "the size of Texas" in Long
Beach, Calif.; Richard W. Noone, who says the Earth's crust will shift on May
5, 2000, turning oceans into "maelstroms of death"; and Meade Ministries, which
believes the "world will soon be engulfed in a sticky white substance."
... The cover profile of Sean Penn gushes over his cowboy independence,
his gruffness, and his refusal to compromise his artistic principles for
high-paying roles.
The New
Yorker
, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4
(posted Thursday, Dec.
24, 1998)
The winter fiction issue
includes short stories by Richard Ford, Ken Kesey, and Annie Proulx. ...
Vladimir Nabokov reviews his own autobiography. (He wrote the review of
his book in 1950 but never published it.) It is a superb review, though he's a
bit too fulsome in his praise for himself: "Mr. Nabokov is to be congratulated
for having performed a very capable and very necessary job," writes Mr.
Nabokov. ... A fascinating article tells the real story of Billy the
Kid. He was not "William Bonney" and was not a killer of Indians and Mexicans.
Instead he was "Henry McCarthy," and he was a soldier in a vicious war between
Irish and English ranchers in New Mexico. A convert from Catholicism to
Presbyterianism, Billy took the English side and murdered fellow Irishmen.
... The annual Christmas poem closes with the wish "may our inmost
selves aspire/ to higher things, like Mark McGwire!"
Harper's
, January 1999
(posted Thursday, Dec.
24, 1998)
A prosperous writer
spends a month in the low-wage work force, waitressing at a cheap hotel's bleak
restaurant. She describes how difficult it is to survive on $7 an hour and how
nasty working conditions for low-wage service employees are and explains why it
costs more to be poor than to be rich (e.g., her co-workers can't save enough
for a security deposit on a monthly apartment, so they must rent week-to-week
at exorbitant rates).
Esquire
, January 1999
(posted Thursday, Dec.
24, 1998)
The much-previewed
profile of Michael Huffington reveals that he is--surprise, surprise--gay. The
former congressman and ex-husband of conservative glamour-puss Arianna
Huffington says he never liked politics and is glad he lost his Senate race (on
which he dropped $30 million). The article leaves the impression that
Huffington is quite confused and a bit dull. ... The annual Dubious
Achievement Awards celebrate 1998 as "the worst year ever": Linda Tripp wins
the "Man of the Year" title over Leonardo DiCaprio, Osama Bin Laden, Lucianne
Goldberg, Ken Starr, and others.
Time
, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4
(posted Tuesday, Dec.
22, 1998, 1998)
Bill Clinton and Ken
Starr are Time 's "Men of the Year" for their "shared obstinacy."
Time 's view of both is dim: "One man's loss of control inspired the
other's, and we are no better for anything either of them did." In a long
accompanying profile, Starr says he is the "tortoise" to Clinton's "hare." In
Starr's defense, Time notes that he told Clinton the results of the
dress DNA tests in advance. On the other hand, Starr let his aggressive
deputies hijack his investigation. Oddly, there is no profile of Clinton
himself, but there is a long piece about Hillary Clinton. (She was bumped as
"Woman of the Year" by the successful impeachment.) "The Better Half" says that
the Clinton marriage is rocky but that Hillary believes Clinton's infidelities
mean only that he is weak, not that he doesn't love her. ... Slugger
Mark McGwire is dubbed "Hero of the Year" for his modesty and generosity.
... An impeachment ticktock recounts the crazy events of the week in
Washington.
Newsweek
, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4
(posted Tuesday, Dec.
22, 1998)
Newsweek 's
impeachment cover chronicles the terrible week. Curious scoop: Despite
claims that they were voting only on evidence in the Judiciary Committee
report, at least 40 House Republicans examined documents containing "old,
unsubstantiated allegations unearthed by Kenneth Starr about Clinton's
relations with women besides Lewinsky." ... A piece says that impeachment won't hurt your stock portfolio: Wall
Street has already taken into account the political disruption. ... An
essay contends that the Iraq attack made no sense strategically,
and it won't aid our efforts to stop Saddam Hussein's weapons development.
... Baseball's 1998 comeback was a mere respite from its overall
decline, argues the magazine. Salaries are too high, attendance is
spotty, and the chasm between rich and poor teams is widening. ... The
annual "Perspectives" roundup recalls the year's best cartoons and quotes: "If I ever
want to have an affair with a married man again, especially if he's president,
please shoot me," says Monica to Linda.
U.S. News
& World Report
, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4
(posted Tuesday, Dec.
22, 1998)
The highlights of the
impeachment cover package: A piece predicts the august, rule-abiding Senate will hold a trial,
and a column argues that "We're all Hillary now." Americans, like the
first lady, support the president because they have no choice, and the
alternative is too awful to contemplate. ... The year-end package celebrates "American innovators," arguing that the United
States produces the best new ideas because it charges little for patents,
doesn't punish business failure, and superbly transfers technology from the
public sector to the private. The innovators saluted include: the creator of
"talking books" for the blind, an architect who designs friendly houses, a
biochemist pushing for-profit science, and incoming Minnesota Gov. Jesse "The
Body" Ventura. (Which of these is not like the others?)
Weekly
Standard
, Dec. 28
(posted Tuesday, Dec.
22, 1998)
The magazine, which has
been pushing impeachment for months, celebrates the House's "Finest Hour." The
editorial declares that "History will smile on these Republicans; they may
never live a nobler moment." ... A piece nominates House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., as "Man of the Year" for refusing
to cave to poll pressure. ... A short profile of probable House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., says little about Hastert except that he's a quiet
conservative. Mostly it disses Rep. Chris Cox--who also considered bidding for
speaker--as "arrogant and cold."
New
Republic , Jan. 4 and 11
(posted Friday, Dec.
18, 1998)
The triumphal cover
story marshals an army of statistics to prove that "life in the U.S. has never
been better." Crime, accidents, fires, drinking, smoking, drugging, air
pollution, water pollution, racism, and divorce are declining. We live longer,
happier, wealthier lives than ever before. Credit American pragmatism: We
really can fix our problems if we try. ... An article says
impeachment-crazed Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., lied about his association with the
racist Council of Concerned Citizens. Barr, despite his claims to the contrary,
spent a long time at the group's conference, never denounced its views, and
knew about its loathsome ideology when he spoke to it. ... The editorial
says the Iraq bombing proves America's strength, not its weakness: "In the
middle of the greatest political excruciation in its modern history, the United
States is doing the noble and necessary thing."
